The present invention relates to alarm systems for alerting responsible adults if a child enters a body of water such as a swimming pool or the like.
Swimming pools in the yards of homes or other areas, as well as other bodies of water such as lakes, oceans, and the like, pose a significant risk to non-swimmers, particularly young children who may be unaware of the danger of entering a body of water. In view of this, various alarm systems have been proposed in the past to alert adults in the event that a young child or infant has entered the water. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,814 of Quinones describes a pool guard alarm in which a wrist band carrying a transmitter and a water immersion sensor is worn by children in a pool area. The water immersion sensor is arranged to deactivate the transmitter upon immersion of the device. Whenever the transmission is interrupted, whether due to immersion in water or due to battery failure or the like, a receiver will sense this condition and activate an alarm. One problem with this system is that the wrist band may easily be removed by the child, or accidentally slip off, and the child will then be unprotected.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,169 describes another security system in which a portable transmitter is worn about the body of a child being monitored, and an alarm is activated if the signal from the transmitter is not received, for example as a result of the transmitter being submerged in water. The transmitter is worn on a belt around the child's waist. The system includes a series of transmitters and an associated receiver, so that more than one child or individual can be monitored simultaneously. Again, there is nothing to prevent the wearer from removing the belt and transmitter.